Leadership

We are passionate about people, purpose, and the power of neurodiversity.

We believe kindness drives growth and innovation. Watch it work.

Aspiritech’s leadership team is committed to being a business with a mission. We strive to create a kind and progressive work environment where our team members can reach their full potential. We believe that by creating a space where innovation and people thrive, our clients and organization will thrive right along with them.

Meet Our Leadership Team

Tara Tesimu

CEO

Tara started as CEO of Aspiritech in April 2022. Prior to joining Aspiritech, Tara was EVP of Media & Chief Digital Officer at Winsight as well as VP of Content and Product Strategy for Patch Media. She helped launch 900 hyperlocal sites for the AOL network as well as a digital reverse-published local news product for the Chicago Tribune.

Tara’s career is focused on using technology and product innovation to drive growth. She is a sought-after speaker on user experience and digital transformation. She’s overseen large and small teams with a focus on career development and leading with kindness. She resides in Lake County with her husband and teen and tween children. She is personally committed to embracing neurodiversity in all aspects of work and life.

Brad Cohen

Chief Marketing Officer

After 30 years as a trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and 10 years serving in the Board of Directors at Aspiritech, Brad proudly joined the company to build the client base and help Aspiritech grow its employment mission.

Brad is also owner of Surfside Palmas Resorts, a rental management and development company in Puerto Rico since 2015. He also has served on several educational boards including District 112 Foundation and is a Trustee of the Palmas Academy.

Winston Tsao

Chief Technology Officer

Winston Tsao joined Aspiritech from a history of working in startups as well as in Fortune 500 companies. With a deep passion for technology and curiosity to learn new tools and new ideas, he gained deep technical knowledge by solving interesting problems in a wide variety of industries.

In his early career, Winston had performed UL certification testing on TV power supplies; coded user interface for set-top boxes; developed interactive e-learning programs and learning management systems; developed e-commerce websites and web applications. Later, he led highly productive, multidisciplinary teams of developers, designers, and testers for websites and application development; guided digital teams to execute successful digital deployments, social engagements, and PPC campaigns; led developers, data scientists, and data engineers that built and maintained data warehouse for millions of products and customers; launched application platforms for on-demand and interactive video streaming applications. He was involved in enterprise applications development and integrations, deployed fault-tolerant and high-availability cloud infrastructures, worked closely with creative services, sales, and marketing departments. Winston will use his experience and optimistic personality to guide Asipiritech to expand new skills and valuable service to provide neurodiverse team members additional opportunities.

Nick Bruno

VP of People & Culture

Nick is joining Aspiritech with 10 years of Human Resources experience at hospitality and healthcare organizations, most recently as the Director of Human Resources for Dyer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He holds a Senior Certified Professional certification from the Society for Human Resources Management and has a BA in English from Illinois Wesleyan University. Nick has a passionate employee-centric approach to HR leadership and hopes to make Aspiritech a trendsetting example of what it means to be a people-first organization. He believes that an organization’s greatest asset is its team members and when those people are also the mission, there is no better place to work.

Cara Cusack

Director of Operations

Cara has more than 25 years of experience in Program and Product Management. She is highly experienced in leading large-scale, highly innovative projects, working collaboratively with stakeholders and development teams, managing complex organizations, building interdepartmental relationships, developing marketing strategies, managing budgets, and solving complex problems. She has 9 children and lots of grandchildren and in her spare time, she loves gardening, kayaking, snow skiing, jogging, boating, and fishing.

Julie Finerty

Director of Finance

Julie joined the Aspiritech team in January 2019. She has a breadth of experience in corporate finance and not-for-profit management and leadership. She is committed to sustaining the organization’s mission through its financial health. She oversees the overall accounting functions at Aspiritech in addition to collaborating with the management team on yearly forecasting and budgeting. She is also responsible for coordinating the financial audit and providing reporting to the Aspiritech Board of Directors.

Julie has long been passionate about being an advocate for neurodiversity in the workplace and celebrating the strengths and contributions of neurodivergent individuals to all of society.

Reanin Stone

Director of Employee Support

Reanin joined the Aspiritech Employment Support Specialist team in June 2018. She has years of counseling experience in various mental health settings working with individuals of all ages, as well as facilitating small therapeutic groups. Having obtained her master’s degree in Marriage and Family therapy from Adler University in Chicago, Reanin has extensive experience working with individuals with AS for over 12 years providing coaching in social skills & executive functioning, and communication assistance. Currently, managing a team of 5 Employment Support Specialists at Aspiritech, she brings knowledge from her experience to each individual in the office, to best meet their needs and level of support to become independent and successful employees. Promoting personal wellness and autonomy, Reanin facilitates meditation groups and discussion groups to assist with social engagement & enrichment in the lives of participating adults with AS.

Program Managers

Stephen Braun

Audio Testing

Stephen is a program manager at Aspiritech overseeing the Audio testing line of business. He leads a large team of project managers and analysts in conducting in-depth end-to-end user testing on new development projects for major companies such as Bose. Stephen specializes in coaching both new and experienced analysts on some of the company’s most sophisticated quality assurance initiatives. Prior to joining Aspiritech as an analyst, Stephen worked as an analyst at Jellyvision as well as a game developer. He graduated from Tribeca Flashpoint Academy.

Jen Goubeaud

Accessibility

Jennifer is the program manager for Aspiritech’s Accessibility program line. She is focused on building and training a team to grow this important initiative both at Aspiritech and in the world at large. She is a passionate believer in digital access for all people and advocates for the business case and more importantly the human case of accessibility and inclusion on the web. She has spent her career working with children and adults on the autism spectrum or with traumatic brain injury as a behavior analyst, clinical service provider, and researcher at Stanford University.

Justin Jungst

Software Quality Assurance

Justin joined Aspiritech in 2018. He formerly worked out of the Chicago office training and developing many of Aspiritech’s future analysts and managers. Now in a remote setting, he manages a team that uses established QA methods to help existing and new clients develop or maintain software to the highest quality. As a manager, Justin uses a people-focused approach to building cohesive teams that can deliver results.

Maxwell Huffman

Audio Testing

Maxwell is a program manager for Aspiritech's multi-million dollar Audio Program with a focus on new development, expanding product lines and coaching team members. Maxwell is a people-first leader who believes in putting his team in a position to succeed is what's best for them, the client, and the organization. Maxwell has a history in sales and marketing. He is passionate about movies and music, making him the perfect person to have an attention to detail in the sound space. He is a sought-after speaker and advocate for people with disabilities. He has several family members with disabilities, including schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis. He is also a recent graduate of Johnson & Johnson's Leadership Development Program.

Doug Norton

Audio Testing

Doug is a program manager on the Audio program line with a focus on lifecycle management for Bose, overseeing a large team of analysts and project leads in both maintenance and new development. Doug brings with him to Aspiritech 25+ years of people and project management as well as software QA testing at both neurotypical and neurodiverse companies. As a member of the senior leadership team, Doug is also involved in company-wide planning, people and process improvement projects, and other new initiatives to help Aspiritech continue to grow and improve as a company. Doug is committed to making Aspiritech a shining example to all companies and communities, on what a neurodiverse workplace can look like, and what it can accomplish. Not only is Doug on the autism spectrum, he is also a proud father of three adult children on the spectrum. This gives Doug distinctive experience and insight. Doug joined Aspiritech in 2016. He received a Business degree from Western Michigan University, where he also earned a 4-year scholarship as a member of the Men’s Gymnastics Team, competing around the country.

Kyle Verbeke

Data Services

Kyle is the program manager for Aspiritech's Data Services business line. He began his career at Aspiritech as a QA analyst, project lead and now oversees onboarding and execution of one of our fastest-growing areas of the business. He is cool, calm, and collected in the face of complex challenges and comfortable working with big and small projects. Kyle is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in film and video.

Board of Directors

Aspiritech’s dedicated Board of Directors plays a critical role in our success. Board members volunteer their time tirelessly to ensure that our goal of providing meaningful employment for individuals on the autism spectrum is met. The Aspiritech Board includes leaders in technology, law, healthcare, communications, and social services.